First Private Passenger on Lunar BFR Mission (2023)

[Red Squirrel]

First I hear of this, I just caught it on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu7WJD8vpAQ

 

[UglyCasanova]

anybody else watching the press conference? The BFG is going to be a big frickin rocket. This Japanese billionaire bought all of the tickets and is going to take artists with him. Interesting idea, not one I would pick, but interesting.

 

[UglyCasanova]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusaku_Maezawa

Yusaku Maezawa (前澤 友作 Maezawa Yūsaku) born 22 November 1975, is a Japanese billionaire entrepreneur going to the damn moon. He founded Start Today in 1998 and launched the online fashion retail website Zozotown, now Japan's largest, in 2004. Most recently, Maezawa introduced a custom-fit apparel brand ZOZOand at-home measurement system, the ZOZOSUIT, in 2018. [2] As of May 2017 he is estimated by Forbes to have a net worth of $3.6 billion and is the 14th richest person in Japan.[3]

 

[Red Squirrel]

I just caught it. Happened to be on Youtube and it popped up. At first I thought they were getting ready for an actual launch I was like what? But yeah that is pretty cool. 2023 is projected date.

 

[UglyCasanova]

Elon seemed...off. I hate to even go there but he seemed high

 

[Red Squirrel]

Elon seemed...off. I hate to even go there but he seemed high

He's always super awkward in speeches lol.

 

[UglyCasanova]

I’ve never watched any until now, from the videos I’ve seen of him he seemed a lot more confident.

 

[Thebobo]

BFR is starting to look a lot more like the 50s hollywood version with the big fins.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Elon seemed...off. I hate to even go there but he seemed high

That's just him. Go watch the Joe Rogan podcast. You can tell he doesn't like to talk.

 

[Darwin333]

anybody else watching the press conference? The BFG is going to be a big frickin rocket. This Japanese billionaire bought all of the tickets and is going to take artists with him. Interesting idea, not one I would pick, but interesting.

I'd definitely take at least one hottie and have the first documented case of space sex. It would probably suck but being a billionaire and all I'm sure he could hire some engineers to design some special velcro harnesses or something to make it easier.

The bragging rights alone would be almost as epic, if not more so, than being the first civilians to go around the moon.

Edit: I thought he was doing the same thing with the Dragon capsule? Is he not doing that anymore?

 

[WelshBloke]

You can tell he doesn't like to talk.

He should probably do it less often tbh.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Nice.

What is Virgin Galactic's timeline for their space tourism thing?

BFR is starting to look a lot more like the 50s hollywood version with the big fins.

I actually am concerned with some of Musk's ideas in that they seem very stuck in like 1950s era futurism and/or pop culture (the flamethrower). That doesn't mean they might not be viable, but it makes me worry that they're going to be compromised by trying to live up to some imagined ideal and thus not be based purely on achieving the ideal engineering path, which could definitely lead to potential problems. Even if it doesn't inhibit performance it could mean increased cost to get there (think Bugatti, sure the Veyron was impressive, but because it had to follow the design, had to have that engine, it made it harder to achieve their performance goals and required ridiculous engineering on certain components which caused it to actually lose a ton of money per vehicle, but they couldn't really up production to compensate either).

He should probably do it less often tbh.

That's a bit of an understatement these days.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I actually am concerned with some of Musk's ideas in that they seem very stuck in like 1950s era futurism and/or pop culture (the flamethrower). That doesn't mean they might not be viable, but it makes me worry that they're going to be compromised by trying to live up to some imagined ideal and thus not be based purely on achieving the ideal engineering path, which could definitely lead to potential problems. Even if it doesn't inhibit performance it could mean increased cost to get there (think Bugatti, sure the Veyron was impressive, but because it had to follow the design, had to have that engine, it made it harder to achieve their performance goals and required ridiculous engineering on certain components which caused it to actually lose a ton of money per vehicle, but they couldn't really up production to compensate either).

The flamethrower was an overpriced toy that let him quickly raise a few million dollars of capital without going to a VC.

The retrofuturism is baked into the concept: "let's make a big rocket ship and go to Mars." But it comes down to Space-X having a pretty reliable rocket engine and cheap boosters - they can slingshot whatever they want to around the moon. Engineering something that will survive reentry is harder and I suspect the 2023 timeframe on a spacecraft that isn't even off the drawing board (let alone man-rated) is typical Musk hype.

 

[ultimatebob]

anybody else watching the press conference? The BFG is going to be a big frickin rocket. This Japanese billionaire bought all of the tickets and is going to take artists with him. Interesting idea, not one I would pick, but interesting.

If I was going to take people with me to the moon, I'd want to take a few aerospace engineers. Because I don't wanna die the first time the lunar habitat breaks down

Of course, If Elon Musk is saying that the launch date is 2023, it probably won't actually launch until 2026 at the earliest. The dude just doesn't know how to underpromise and over deliver.

 

[Red Squirrel]

They should rush initial development using the cheapest materials available such as cardboard, then do a few test flights right away using politicians as pay load. If the front falls off, then cardboard's out.

 

[Thebobo]

I was thinking I could be the first person to listen to Dark Side of the Moon on the dark side of the moon. Trippy

 

[bigi]

...

Of course, If Elon Musk is saying that the launch date is 2023, it probably won't actually launch until 2026 at the earliest. The dude just doesn't know how to underpromise and over deliver.

To be fair, he has delivered eventually. It is not like we are talking about cooking dinner. It is something that nobody has ever done before - as the ship will have to land itself back after the around moon trip. And the size - speechless, and it will fly to other planets at least per plan. And land itself.

There are a "few" bits that always delay the whole deal of such complexity.

 

[Darwin333]

I still vote for bringing a hottie or two or 3 and being the first official and verified person to have sex in space/not on Earth. Your name would literally be in the history books for boning, I can't think of anything cooler than that. Even the first people to bone on Mars wouldn't be able to eclipse your accomplishment.

 

[TXHokie]

anybody else watching the press conference? The BFG is going to be a big frickin rocket. This Japanese billionaire bought all of the tickets and is going to take artists with him. Interesting idea, not one I would pick, but interesting.

If something goes haywire and the BFR full of artists paint a splotch on the moon, it can still be called art. Win win.

 

[dasherHampton]

I can't believe the guy isn't waiting for a few successful trips before going himself.

A person who's poor and has no prospects? I can absolutely see them signing up. A billionaire? The guy still has a lot to live for here on earth.

 

[Red Squirrel]

TBH if I had that much money I'd totally do it. I would fund the unmaned test mission AND a mission for me to go too after. Heck, I would just start my own space program. Why the hell not. Then I can just make as many missions as I want. I always thought it would be cool to build a space hotel, basically something the size of the ISS but designed around leisure. You launch people up there to stay for like a week then come back. Would be an out of this world vacation. Well, I guess LEO is technically still within the world.

 

[bigi]

I can't believe the guy isn't waiting for a few successful trips before going himself.

A person who's poor and has no prospects? I can absolutely see them signing up. A billionaire? The guy still has a lot to live for here on earth.

He's not going to fly right after they assemble BFR. They will test it A LOT before anybody will fly it.

Still dangerous a lot and Elon has been vocal about it.